NCC Maternal Newborn Nursing 2025 – 400 Free Practice Questions to Pass the Exam

Forceps delivery can potentially cause nerve injuries in the newborn for several reasons. During the procedure, the forceps are applied to the baby's head to assist in the delivery process. If the forceps are used with excessive force or are not positioned correctly, they can compress or damage the nerves in the baby's neck, shoulders, or face. This can lead to conditions such as Erb's palsy, which affects the brachial plexus nerves and can result in weakness or paralysis of the arm on one side of the body.

The potential for nerve injuries highlights the importance of using forceps only when absolutely necessary and ensuring that skilled practitioners are performing the procedure. Monitoring the newborn following forceps delivery is crucial to identify and address any complications that may arise promptly.

Other complications listed, while they may occur in different circumstances, are not directly associated with forceps deliveries. For instance, blood clots are more relevant to maternal health, craniosynostosis is a prematurity-related condition related to premature fusion of skull sutures rather than a delivery method, and infection could be a risk with any surgery but is not specifically linked to the use of forceps in delivery. Thus, nerve injuries specifically align with the risks posed by the application of force